The present invention relates to a method for executing several services during the same telephone call, these services being selected from a large number of services that can be accessed through a telecommunication network.
It is applicable, notably but not exclusively, to so-called xe2x80x9cintelligentxe2x80x9d networks that were implemented to ease creation, control, and management of new services offered to users. An intelligent network is based on a physical architecture comprising call control points (CCP) that provide users with access to the network and accomplish the required selections, notably by managing calls, by detecting services requests that are offered by the intelligent network, and carrying out the call for invoked services. Some call control points include a service switching function (SSF) and are connected to one or more service control points (SCP) to provide the service control function (SCF) by means of programs which are run to provide intelligent network services. An SCP may be connected to a service data point (SDP) providing a service data function (SDF) through a database containing information related to users and services, these data being used by the associated service control point to execute customized services. A call control point connected to a service control point communicates therewith using a normalized communication protocol named INAP (Intelligent Network Application Protocol), this protocol establishing communication between SSF and SCG, SCF and SCF, SCF and SDF functions. Call control points communicate among them using ISUP (Integrated Services Digital Network-User Part) protocol, interoperability between INAP and ISUP protocols being provided by SSF function which implements at this end OCCRUI (Out Channel Call Related User Interaction) mechanisms based on the Q.860 and Q.765.4 (CS3 (capability Set) in this case) recommendations.
Presently, based on this intelligent network architecture, operators offer, for example, telephone directory services capable to call directly the corresponding party searched for, call restriction services enabling to list unauthorized numbers or prefixes, prepay services requiring consumption limit management. In other respects, recent growth in the telecommunication field makes it possible to consider many additional services, such as translation services, indication of rates while communication is occurring, voice information access, etc.
In this context, numerous problems are arising when several of services are made addressable for a customer during the same telephone call.
Thus, during a telephone call, for instance, a customer will get access to a voice directory service or through an operator, before accessing a call achievement service of the directory service so as to be in connection with the selected service, successively. Also, customers can obtain an itemized bill, gaining benefit from a communication limit which takes effect, or taking advantage from a voice mail to which their incoming calls are diverted in case of absence or if the line is busy.
These accesses for several services during one single call involve problems for authorizing access to these services, for billing their use, particularly to set up a bill with full details of the call, and for establishing a voucher. Further, these multiple accesses are likely to result in interferences among services, which occur notably when one service tries unexpectedly to make use of a resource that is used by another service, causing disturbances in service operation, especially when unauthorized numbers or numbering prefixes as well as consumption limits being allocated to the customer are to be handled, and when a payment voucher is established for a telephone call.
As an example, when a customer has subscribed to a call restriction service using a predefined list of unauthorized numbers or prefixes, thereafter if he accesses a directory service which can call on its own the party the customer is searching for, that service has to take into account the list of unauthorized numbers when making the call that is invoked, and, possibly, the communication limit the customer has paid for. Moreover, as for the itemized bill, every service that was invoked during the same call must contribute to the making up of the itemized bill relating to this call.
Nowadays, several solutions are carried out to solve these problems. One solution consists in processing interactions between services, two at a time, presumably the same call accessing only two services. It has been found that this approach was complicated even though a few number of services are presently available. Further, every time a new service is introduced the existing services have to be modified so as to be able to manage interactions with the new service.
If it is contemplated that many additional services and access to more than two services during the same call should be offered, this solution will be proved inapplicable because of the number of cases to be studied.
Another solution consists in implementing an external database through which database the different services offered can exchange information with one another. This solution requires to anticipate information the services will have to exchange with one another, knowing that adding new information in the database cannot be realized in a simple manner without service interruption and without modifying processing worked out by all services that use modified data.
There exists a normalized exchange protocol among request/response type services. This protocol is adapted to enable one service being executed during a call processing to invoke another service. However, according to this protocol, invocation of one service by another is achieved outside the context of the current call. Therefore, this protocol is not suited to handle interactions between services which are executed during the same call.
An object of the present invention is to suppress the above drawbacks by defining a general mode of cooperation among services. To this end, it provides a method for processing at least one service that is invoked during a telephone call, this method comprising a phase of processing a call, which is triggered by each call originated from a telephone network customer, and which includes transmission of a service request through the telephone network up to a service control point adapted for realizing the requested service, and execution of the requested service by the service control point.
According to the invention, this method is characterized in that it comprises a preliminary phase for realizing services that includes breaking down each service to be realized into service elements that bring together processing sequences common to several services or interacting with other services, and service execution includes setting up an initial information message and transmitting this message to other services that were invoked during said telephone call, the initial information message containing:
a list of service element identifiers subjected to a preliminary authorization demand of said service before being executed by other services that were invoked during said telephone call,
a list of unauthorized service element identifiers, execution of which by other services is not authorized during said telephone call, and
a list of identifiers of information types that must be notified to said service from other services that were invoked during said telephone call.
By breaking down services in service elements, the invention makes it possible to identify the parts of processing which are executed by the services, interacting with other services or being found in several different services. Hence, it enables simplification also when new services are to be provided.
Such service elements include, for example, what is named a call achievement, where a service triggers a call for a number the calling customer has not requested directly, or setting up a bill item so as to be able to collect all information that were used for determining communication rate and establishing, for instance, an itemized bill.
It has been found that the number of possible service elements is much lower than the number of services one could imagine. Consequently, having a set of predefined-service elements, the interactions of which among service elements have been studied to allow cooperation between services, enables to provide readily a large number of new services, with no requirement so as to study interactions among those new services and existing services.
Advantageously, the method further comprises handling and processing, by the service control point which executes said requested service, the authorization demands that were received from other services executed during said telephone call, and the information notifications originated from those other services, processing an authorization demand, consisting in originating through the telephone network an execution authorization demand specifying whether the service element that is mentioned in the authorization demand message may be executed or not.
According to a feature of the invention, if the service being executed is not the first service to be executed during said telephone call, the method further comprises the following steps carried out by the service being executed:
receiving the initial information message,
handling the information contained in this message to demand authorizations required before executing service elements which were invoked, not executing unauthorized service elements, and notification of information the type of which appears in the list of information types to be notified by originating information notification messages that contain those information, and
if necessary, updating the initial information message by inserting in this message identifiers of other service elements from the lists of unauthorized service elements and of service elements subjected to authorization, and identifiers of information types from the list of information types to be notified, and originating this message.